Pre-market: Consolidation likely

Britannia, DLF, Pipavav in focus

The markets are likely to consolidate today after recording healthy gains in the previous session. On the domestic front, the Finance Minister P Chidambaram’s assurance for a review of the retrospective amendments to the Income Tax Act and new measures to attract investment in Mutual Funds could boost sentiment.

US stocks extended their last week's rally on Monday on hopes for more assistance for the troubled euro zone. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 0.2 per cent each.

In Asian markets, Japan's benchmark Nikkei average opened down 0.14 per cent on Tuesday, while the broader Topix shed 0.01 per cent.

Back home, the Nifty is likely to seek support around 5,270 – 5,260, while it can face resistance around 5,295 – 5,300 levels.

At 710 am Indian Standard Time, the SGX Nifty was trading at 5,300 – up 0.1 per cent.

Among individual stocks, retail sector stocks could be in focus today after Fitch Ratings has revised the outlook for the Indian retail sector for the second half of this year from stable to negative.

DLF, BEML, Steel Authority of India, Britannia and Divi’s Labs are some of the stocks that will react to their respective June quarter results.

Pipavav Defence and Offshore Engineering Company has bagged two international orders worth Rs 1,192 crore. This could see the stock come back in focus today.

In earnings watch today, Aurobindo Pharma, Balrampur Chini, J&K Bank, MOIL and Punj Lloyd are some of the prominent companies that will announce their respective June quarter results today.